Procedures and people
As a manager of people you will have noticed that
some people are constantly looking for new ways to
do things; and some like to follow established
procedures.
It is ironic that the people that love to write
procedures are the ones that have the most difficulty
to follow them.
On the other side are those who believe that there is
a "right" way to do things: it is better not to suggest
to these that they should break the rules!
So on one side are those who physiologically have a
problem following the rules, and on the other side
those who demand to have rules in place. The job of
the manager is to find a system that works for both
groups!
Rigidity versus Flexibility
The key is recognizing that too much rigidity and
standardization is not well accepted; while
flexibility can empower the individual. Maybe rather
than rules, the answer is guidelines.
But guidelines can only work if there is an underlying
framework of values to be applied, the responsibilities
are clearly communicated and the boundaries
are
policed. When one goes over the top, it is important
that it is picked up and acted upon - "You are over
the limit, what is happening".
Do you encourage your people to work
close
to the limit? Are you be happy when you have to
review the boundaries to give people a larger "credit
limit"?
Nigel works with people in business who want to do
more with less – to make a greater contribution with
less effort – to be more themselves with less holding
them back.
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Kind regards,
nigel
phone:
+386-1-420-1524: +386-31-674-924